Welcome back to the short yet practical Weekly Dvar. It's short, so you can
memorize it easily, and it's practical so you'd WANT to memorize it, and
share it with others. Of course, sharing with others can be through telling
it over, or through referring others to this very list. Whatever works for
you. Regardless, your comments, questions, and suggestions are always
welcome. Enjoy...

The main story of this week's Parsha, Shemini, is of the death of Aaron's
two sons after they tried to bring an offering they weren't supposed to
bring. The Torah attests to the fact that Aaron was quiet about it, and didn
't complain or question G-d (10:3). Rashi explains that his reward was that
G-d spoke to him directly. Why was that his reward, and why do we need to
know what Aaron's reward is?

As the Lekach Tov explains, Rashi is telling us more then just about the
reward Aaron got! It's been well documented that G-d doesn't speak to anyone
that's sad. What that tells us that is that not only was Aaron quiet, but
that he wasn't even sad about his sons dying, and never doubted G-d's
decision to take them away. It's a spiritual level we should all strive for.
If you think about it, if we only think of our physical lives, then in a
sense we're dying with every second that brings us closer to it. But as
Ramban explains, if we understand that there's more to life then our time on
earth, we'll realize that this world is only the beginning, understand that
there's less to be sad about, and live our lives embracing that "goal line".
The Parsha (and Aaron) is teaching us that when we embrace death, we can
start living!